Primitive Baptist Church and Family History
Research Assistance for Ogle County, Illinois
CHURCH:
BUFFALO GROVE (POLO)(1843)
Buffalo Grove Church, near Polo, was organized May 27, 1843, by Elders Alexander Conlee and Moses Jones, ministers from East Fork of Fever River Church (JoDaviess County), and Brother Richard Wood, from Union Church in Morgan County. The charter members were Benjamin and Jerusha Hammond, and Fannie M. Curtis, but several others were baptized at the same meeting.
Elder Peter Saltzman left an account of its early history in the Western Predestinarian Baptist, viz.: "I have been two trips to the North, in the summer of 1843 and 1844, to Wisconsin and the North of Illinois. The first trip, I spent about five months, the second about two. During my stay in Wisconsin the first trip, I received intelligence concerning a little band of Old School Baptists, situated at Buffalo Grove, and that they had been imposed on by the Missionary Baptists, and constituted into a church by a gentleman of that order, professing to be a baptist of the old order. I purposed in my mind through the approbation of Providence to visit them; accordingly in August, I made my way there in company with Elders Conlee and (Moses) Jones. I spent about ten days with them, preached seven or eight times to them, and left them, but returned again in September to visit them. I found them a united band of brethren, loving the truth and not ashamed to contend for it. These people were afterwards constituted into a church by Elder Conlee, of JoDaviess County, Illinois, on proper principles, and those that had been baptized by the missionary gentleman, and desired admittance into the Regular Baptist Church, were received by experience and baptized."
Buffalo Grove Church met, as early as 1851, in the Doty School; a new Doty school building was erected many years later, to be used both as a church and school, by agreement of the members of the church and others in the neighborhood.
Elders Peter Saltzman, Ebenezer Terry, Clement West, Joel Sanford, Ahirah Sanford, Elias H. Gillett, and others were ministers in this church during its history. Several other brethren were licensed to preach by this church, viz., William W. Sanford, Harrison Sanford, Jacob Hewitt, and J. W. Rouse. It appears to have been the custom of this church to have the members all speak freely what was on their mind at their meetings, especially if an ordained minister was not able to be with them.
Buffalo Grove church was a member of the First Northwestern Association during most of its history, and it hosted the association meeting on several occasions, the last time being in 1887.
SURNAMES OF MEMBERS:
Barnum, Bellows, Box, Butts, Campbell, Clarkman, Curtis, Ellis, Elmendorf, Fergason, Gillett, Hammond, Harris, Hewitt, Huggins, Kinsey, Lane, Lester, McFarland, McKeel, Morse, Mulnix, Ott, Palmatier, Reed, Roberts, Robison, Rouse, Saltzman, Sanford, Searle, Sherwood, Smith, Sweet, Terry, West.
ADDITIONAL SUGGESTED REFERENCE SOURCES IN THE PRIMITIVE BAPTIST LIBRARY:
Records of Buffalo Grove Church, 1843-1897.
Minutes of the First Northwestern Association; obituaries of members in the Signs of the Times.
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